EMBO Press Release - Tavernarakis Lab

European Molecular Biology Organization
PRESS RELEASE
EMBO welcomes 66 leading life
scientists as members
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY,
19 OCTOBER 2009 – The European
Molecular Biology Organization
(EMBO) today announced the
election of 66 leading life scientists
to its membership. Sixty of the
recognized researchers are based in
Europe and neighbouring countries,
while six scientists from Australia,
Japan and the US receive the
honour of associate membership. In
total, EMBO membership now
comprises 1,420 of the worlds
foremost molecular biologists.
EMBO elects new members
annually on the basis of scientific
excellence. The latest scientists to
join the group come from 16 different
countries and represent a broad
cross-section of researchers from all
fields of molecular biology, ranging
from evolutionary to computational
biology, neuroscience and plant
science. This year, 15 female
scientists are recognized for their
contributions to life science research.
“The election once again puts a
spotlight on the most outstanding
representatives of the current
generation of life scientists. We look
forward to the fresh impulses this
exceptional group will bring to our
organization,” said EMBO Director
Hermann Bujard. EMBO Members
provide their scientific expertise to
the various programmes coordinated
by EMBO. They provide scientific
input to the organization, participate
in committees, may nominate new
members, mentor young scientists
and initiate new activities.
To better reflect the diversity of
contemporary molecular biology in
the EMBO membership, the election
procedure has been significantly
modified this year – for the first time
since the foundation of EMBO in
1964. From this year on, the top 60
percent of the candidates nominated
by the membership committee are
elected automatically. All remaining
candidates are judged, according to
their specialties, by an election
committee divided into five scientific
sections. The new procedure allows
the identification of the true leaders
in a wide spectrum of fields, who
may not generally be known to all
voting members.
A list of all new EMBO
Members and Associate Members
is featured below.

European Molecular Biology Organization
NEW EMBO MEMBERS 2009
Frédéric Allain, Switzerland
Gil Ast, Israel
Francis Barr, United Kingdom
Yann Barrandon, Switzerland
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, France
Facundo Batista, United Kingdom
Simon Boulton, United Kingdom
Søren Brunak, Denmark
Julia Promisel Cooper, United Kingdom
Patrick Cramer, Germany
Geneviève de Saint Basile, France
Liam Dolan, United Kingdom
Richard Durbin, United Kingdom
Martin Embley, United Kingdom
Tariq Enver, United Kingdom
Elizabeth Fisher, United Kingdom
Jonathan Flint, United Kingdom
Margaret Frame, United Kingdom
Marcos González-Gaitán, Switzerland
Iain Hagan, United Kingdom
Nicholas P. Harberd, United Kingdom
Bassem Hassan, Belgium
Ronald Hay, United Kingdom
Liisa Holm, Finland
Brigitte Kieffer, France
Thomas Lecuit, France
Ben Luisi, United Kingdom
Vivek Malhotra, Spain
Richard Marais, United Kingdom
Oscar Marín, Spain
Seamus Martin, Ireland
Jane Mellor, United Kingdom
Axel Meyer, Germany
Victor Muñoz, Spain
Andrea Musacchio, Italy
James H. Naismith, United Kingdom
Anne O’Garra, United Kingdom
Steven O’Rahilly, United Kingdom
Roger Patient, United Kingdom
David Porteous, United Kingdom
Catherine Rabouille, Netherlands
Minoo Rassoulzadegan, France
Jean-Marc Reichhart, France
William Schafer, United Kingdom
Dirk Schübeler, Switzerland
Stephen Smerdon, United Kingdom
Christopher Smith, United Kingdom
Anne Spang, Switzerland
Ernst H. K. Stelzer, Germany
Michael Stratton, United Kingdom
Nektarios Tavernarakis, Greece
Dan S. Tawfik, Israel
Didier Trono, Switzerland
Laura van ‘t Veer, Netherlands
Gisou Van der Goot, Switzerland
Pierre Vanderhaeghen, Belgium
Dietmar Vestweber, Germany
Andrew Paul Waters, United Kingdom
Robert J. White, United Kingdom
Marat Yusupov, France
NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS 2009
Bruce Beutler, US
Uta Francke, US
Fred Gage, US
Keiichi Namba, Japan
Andreas Strasser, Australia
Masatoshi Takeichi, Japan

European Molecular Biology Organization
Contact EMBO
Suzanne Beveridge
Head, Public Relations & Communications
Yvonne Kaul
Communications Officer
Phone + 49 (0) 6221 8891 108
communications@embo.org
About EMBO
The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) promotes excellence in molecular life
sciences in Europe by recognizing and fostering talented scientists. Since 1964, leading
scientists are elected annually to become EMBO Members based on proven excellence in
research. Members number more than 1,400 today. Fifty scientists from the EMBO
membership have received the Nobel Prize.
Leading peer-reviewed journals – The EMBO Journal, EMBO reports and Molecular Systems
Biology – span a broad spectrum of topics of molecular biology and reflect how science is
shaping the world. A new journal, EMBO Molecular Medicine, publishes original research
offering molecular insight into the cellular and systemic processes underlying human disease.
EMBO funding, training and networking activities impact thousands of scientists every year,
promoting collaboration in all areas of molecular biology – within its 27 member states, in
Europe and neighbouring countries, and worldwide.
For more information: www.embo.org